Paul ‘The Chief’ Harragon had a crowd of about 100 people hanging on his every word at Club Gunnedah last Saturday night, as he was the guest speaker at the Boggabri Kangaroos’ sportsman’s dinner.
Harragon generated plenty of laughter and intrigue as he talked about various facets of his rugby league journey, while sitting on stage alongside compere Ray McCoy.
When he wasn’t on stage, the guest speaker happily signed autographs and posed for photos while also conversing with anyone who approached him.
Having captained the Newcastle Knights to their maiden premiership in 1997, Harragon also played State of Origin for NSW from 1992 to 1998 and was a regular in Australian Test teams, also from 1992 to 1998.
A highlight reel last Saturday night revealed snippets of Harragon’s career at club, state and international level, while background music included Electric Light Orchestra’s 1979 hit single Don’t Bring Me Down.
Harragon said one thing he enjoyed about places like Gunnedah was, “Everyone says g’day and everyone’s got each other’s back.”
Harragon described himself as “an inquisitive sort of a fellow” who “always wanted to work out what’s going on and why we do certain things, not just for the sake of it”.
Harragon said he loved his family and was also very loyal and quiet, and “pretty shy at heart” while leadership didn’t naturally come to him.
“I stretched myself,” he said.
“I learned that saying about being comfortable in the uncomfortable because whenever you’re growing, there’s no growth without struggle…I got used to being comfortable in that uncomfortable position.”
Harragon recalled being a skinny 17-year-old when he had the ambition to play rugby league for Australia and had nothing much going for him, as he couldn’t get a job.
Harragon said he was “the shyest kid you’d ever seen” at that time, before he progressed in rugby league and then had a two-year period when “everything went wrong”.
“I often tell the story of what got me through, because at the end of the day everyone struggles to get to that end, but for me it’s always been about the reason,” he said.
“If my reason’s strong enough, it overcomes any obstacle that comes in your way.”
McCoy asked Harragon how he acquired his nickname, with Harragon saying it came from a character called ‘The Chief’ who “played the role of a deaf, dumb mute” in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.
Harragon said someone at football training had said to him “you’re ‘The Chief’” because he was “embarrassingly quiet”.
Harragon said he was later advised to say “because you tell them to”, if anyone asked him why he was called ‘The Chief’.
After Harragon earned the playerof-the-match award in a match for Newcastle against Balmain in 1989, a group of journalists asked him why he was called ‘The Chief’.
“I said ‘because I tell them to’,” he told the crowd at Club Gunnedah.
“I went from the ‘Hanky Chief’ to ‘The Chief’.”
Harragon recalled having injuries while progressing through the representative ranks, including the Country Origin and NSW State of Origin teams and the Australian team.
Further highlight reels on the big screen revealed some of Harragon’s time on The Footy Show, with the guest speaker saying “some of the gee-ups and some of the fun we had was just absolutely outrageous”.
Reference was also made to the single which Harragon released – That’s Gold – which reached number eight in the Australian charts in 2007.
Attention turned to Harragon’s rivalry with Mark ‘Spudd’ Carroll, with the former saying “it just happened” and that they hated each other and sledged each other.
“A rival is wonderful,” Harragon said.
“It makes you fire up.”
Harragon said he learned how meticulous Carroll was, after manager Geoff Carr made them room together during the 1995 State of Origin series.
Harragon recalled 1997 being a tumultuous time in Newcastle while the city had two rugby league teams: the Newcastle Knights (in the Australian Rugby League competition) and the Hunter Mariners (in the Super League competition which lasted just one year).
On a different note, McCoy asked Harragon if he went on a road trip and could take one CD with him, what would it be?
Harragon’s reply was “Jimmy Buffett”.
McCoy also asked the guest speaker, “If you could have dinner with anyone past or present, who would it be?”
After pausing, Harragon’s answer was “maybe Einstein”.
After Harragon finished his time on stage, stand-up comedian Andrew Barnett kept the audience amused for a while longer before an auction was held.
Auction items included an esky, paintings, copies of Harragon’s autobiography, a bottle of whiskey, a Country Origin jersey, a NSW State of Origin jersey, a World Cup jersey, and a framed photo of Australia’s 1984 Test team which opposed Great Britain.
Boggabri rugby league president Greg Haire said funds raised on the night would go towards helping the club’s injured players.
Haire described Harragon as “so down to earth” and “an absolute gentleman”, while “the comedian was great” as well.
“The club looked after us, the auction went well,” Haire said.
“All in all it was a good night.”
